ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2019 June;178(6):392-5

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.18.03869-X

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Postural patterns in the first year of life: contributions of maternal physical activity in the pregnancy period

Marco BATISTA ¹, Samuel HONÓRIO ¹ ✉, João SERRANO ¹, Helena MESQUITA ^{1, 2, 3}, Ana RIBEIRO ¹, João PETRICA ¹

¹ Sport, Health and Exercise Research Unit (SHERU), Department of Sports and Well Being, Polytechnical Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal; ² Center of Investigation in Inclusion and Accessibility in Action (iACT), Department of Sports and Well Being, Polytechnical Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal; ³ Center of Special Education Studies, Department of Sports and Well Being, Polytechnical Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal

BACKGROUND: The study objective was intended to verify whether the practice of maternal physical activity during the pregnancy period could be assumed as a contribution to the acquisition of postural patterns in the child during its first year of life.
METHODS: A transversal and descriptive study was carried where we recorded the developments observed in a sample of 80 Portuguese children, according to the habits and type of physical activity of the mothers. Statistical descriptive and inferential test were performed.
RESULTS: The results were clearly positive in terms of temporal gains of neck tonic control, and also in the acquisition of an erect position.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite the average values are not statistical significant we have observed indicators that the maternal physical activity during pregnancy apparently is a factor that can favor the child’s motor development during their first year of life, particularly in the acquisition of postural patterns.

KEY WORDS: Child development; Posture; Physical activity; Pregnancy